This month, Adam released a book on prayer, called Talking With God. It’s fantastic. Welcome Adam Weber to the blog. (Be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of his book!)

“Everyone else” doesn’t know how to pray

By Adam Weber

A few weeks back, I received an email from a friend asking if we could get together. I could tell by his words that there was something specific he wanted to talk about.

We checked our schedules and through nothing short of a miracle, we both somehow found forty-five minutes to connect over coffee the next day. We made plans to meet up at one of my favorite coffee shops in downtown Sioux Falls.

I arrived a few minutes early, ordered the usual—dark coffee with one Splenda—and found a table near the front that was perfect for people watching. Twenty minutes later, my friend arrived. He apologized for not being on time. His life is busy as he tries to be seventeen different places at once. He’s getting his career off the ground. He’s a dad to two young kids. And then there’s his marriage.

“I never thought it would all be so much work,” he shared with me. He wore a smile, but you could tell his life was crazy. He was overwhelmed.

Now, as a pastor, I’ve heard it all. Nothing really surprises me anymore. As he updated me on the status of his life, I wondered if he was struggling with something more. Had he made a mistake? Was he having an affair? I wasn’t sure where our conversation was going or what he wanted to say or ask.

We small-talked for ten minutes or so, and then he finally said it: “Well, I’ll just get to why I wanted to get together. I feel foolish for asking this, since I’m a grown adult. I grew up going to church, and this is something everyone else probably knows but me. It just looks so easy for others. But I just want to ask: How does a person pray?”

He paused, took a breath, then quickly continued: “I should probably know this, right? But I don’t. I feel stupid, and I wasn’t sure who to ask. And again, this probably comes easy for everyone else. But again, how do you pray? Like, what do you say? Do you start with, ‘Hey, God, it’s me’? Is there a right or wrong way to pray? Can I screw this up?”

As my friend talked a million miles an hour, I was hoping he’d take another breath so he didn’t pass out. I could tell he was embarrassed and felt foolish, yet he was curious and wanted to know how to pray. So curious, in fact, that he found time in his crazy schedule to ask about it.

I was grateful my friend was so candid and real, and honored that he trusted me enough to ask his question. But, honestly, this wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question. Far from it.

And if no one else, the pastor does, right? I can’t speak for others, but I know I don’t.

And I’m paid to know this kind of thing.

When you open the Bible, it’s clear that Jesus’ followers didn’t know how to pray either. In one of his first sermons, Jesus talks about and tries to explain prayer.

“When you pray,” Jesus said, “don’t do it to be seen. Don’t do it to impress others, like hypocrites often do. They might sound impressive, but they actually have it all wrong. Yup, they’ve missed the boat. Prayers do not need to be long, and there’s no need to use big words. God isn’t impressed with how we pray or the things we say. In fact, he already knows what we need, even before we start.”

Instead, when you pray, just pray like this: “Our Father…”

Again, even followers of Jesus—the people who hung out with Jesus himself—didn’t have prayer figured out. Jesus wouldn’t have talked about it with them if they did. I’ll go out on a limb and say that the majority of “everyone else” doesn’t have prayer figured out either. They have questions. They feel unqualified or inadequate. They avoid prayer altogether. After all, how do you talk with the Creator of the entire universe without feeling a little intimidated?

The truth is, prayer is simple. Kids are great at it. It’s like talking with a good friend. It’s like breathing. And what we may not know about prayer is the best part. Whether we’re in the middle of a storm, living in Crazytown, or stuck in the mud, God can’t wait to talk with me. With you.

About Adam

Adam lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He likes typewriters, drives a Rambler, cheers for the Cincinnati Bengals, has 4 chickens, and a dog named Daisy. He’s the Lead Pastor of Embrace, a 10-year-old church that has grown to 6 campuses in two states. He and his beautiful wife, Becky, have four kids.

I highly recommend his new book Talking With God.It’s a five-star read, an approachable book on prayer that will make you feel less alone and equip you to have the kind of conversations with God that you didn’t think possible.

BOOK GIVEAWAY

Adam is giving away THREE copiesof Talking With God. For a chance to win, simply let us know in the comments that you’d like this book. As always, every social-media share earns you more entries. Just let me know in the comments where you shared. We work on the honor system. I’ll draw a winner Friday.

#TellHisStory

Hey Tell His Story crew! It is a joy to gather here every week with you. The linkup goes live each Tuesday at 4 p.m. (CT). If you would use the badge on your blog, found here, that would be great! And if you would visit at least one other blogger in the link-up and encourage them with a comment, that would be beautiful! Be sure to check the sidebar later. I’ll be featuring one of you over there! Our featured writer this week is Lisa Tindal. “Contentment” can be a tricky word. I appreciated Lisa’s thoughts on finding contentment in the everyday-ness of life. Find Lisa here. To be considered as our featured writer, be sure to use our badge or a link to my blog from your post. xo Jennifer

Oh wow! Having recently been chosen to contribute to a book on motherhood, I’d been a little proud I suppose and people began to make me question, people who were tools of Satan and people who were wise. I was having a hard time accepting this accomplishment but being so excited I was beginning to make people sick of me.

Yesterday, I prayed with my pastor. I told him as he put his strong arm on my shoulder. “I need to surrender my writing to God.” Because I’d been saying I had in all the pretty and predictable ways…but, I had not and thank you, God, the Spirit convicted me so very strongly to be real at last about it all.

And now, this morning, this grace from you to be featured. Overwhelmed.

I’d love this book for my son, a sophomore in college who told me last year in an especially desperate time, “I can’t even find God anymore, how can I pray?”

Love this. And yeah… Going through a period of grief and life storms I’ve often found myself feeling awkward and lost about prayer.
Would love a chance at the book if Canada is included in the contest. Sharing on FB anyways because the message is that valid.

Sounds perfect: Prayer is talking with God. It’s that simple. I’ve always thought of prayer as conversation, and write “love letters” to God, where I am writing to Him about all that concerns me–large and small occurrences–just as we talk to a best friend, and I daresay, to our lover. He is the lover of our soul, and He wants us to talk to Him!! When think of my prayers in terms of simply talking to God, conversing with God, and not pontificating in preachy, flowery “pulpit” speak, I’m on my way to meaningful encounters with the One who longs to hear from me. Sounds like a fabulous read!

“The truth is prayer is simple.” Yes, it is. I have learned to pray the simplest of prayers. Lately I have been asking total strangers to pray one simple prayer for me and in return I ask them….Can I pray for you?

I love how Adam approached you, and it is a question I often hear, or in my Bible study group, “Please don’t call on me to pray; I can’t pray in a group. If I would I would love to share the booke with her.gsummitt@vinu.edu

I would really like to read this book. Trite as it may sound I feel the same way about prayer. Like I’m not saying the right thing, asking the wrong way, it’s all confusing at times.mmthanks for a chance at winning this book. I commented on the blog only. Don’t have any other accounts, like Instagram or Facebook or whatever else is out there

I held my breath when I read your friend’s question — and when I read the words of Jesus (“Pray like this”) I exhaled. He doesn’t want to make it hard for us. And I’m so thankful that He is even more intensely interested in what I have to say than I am in saying it.
Blessings to you, Adam.
And thanks, Jennifer, for the heads up.

What caught my attention: prayer is like breathing. That alone is a statement worth further exploration. Adam’s book sounds sensible (“Prayer doesn’t have to be long, and there’s no need to use big words.”) and doable (“Prayer is simple–like talking to a good friend.”) I would be interested in a copy!

By now people who follow my people ( as in the many wonderful Christian writers) who amaze me with their words filling my heart. I love to read. It’s a want God has been fulfilling. I remember reading at an extremely young age. I also remember my mum and dad pray every night. I was orphaned at age 9 in a third world country. It was not easy being a girl for me but not for the Lord Jesus. Prayer is long and drawn out for me but it’s because I love talking to God. I love learning about that. Like reading learning is another thing I enjoy. I would love this book not just for myself but to pass on. It’s a subject we think we know till we hear another’s words of wisdom about it. Thank you for the opportunity.
Jennifer I keep wondering about your parents. I pray for them. Please tell me how they are faring if you can. I am a nurse and the elderly I have cared for for over 30 years. Perhaps it’s my own parents I see in each of them. I was part of your launch team so I follow you on Twitter and FB so I am easy to get a hold of. Hugs to them and you sister in Christ

I would love a copy of this book. My son & his fiancé are reading it together, and they’ve chosen to remove themselves from social media(I’m blocked) for 21 days while they do so.
It’s causing a division in our families, which is not from God.
I’d love to read this book to get on the same page with them & try to start some dialog.
Our beliefs used to be similar, but now appear worlds apart.
Thank you for your consideration.

Sounds like a great book and if I win I will read and donate to our church library! Lisa’s post is next as discontentment is one of the enemies I wrote about today in my post, “Are You Sleeping With the Enemy?” I pinned and tweeted if that’s a requirement for the “win.”